Emebgency-lever-slot-filling- device



s. F. PRESTON. EMERGENCY-LEVER SLOT FILLING DEVICE.`

APPLICATION mm JAN. 1-9. :91s. 1,193,487.

Patented Aug. 1, '1916.'

ffy. V

Imre/77am' SOLON FERADTllPRES'lCillo/T.` MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT.

EMERGENCY-LEVER-SLOT-FILLING DEVICE.

Appcation filed Januaryw, 1915.

My invention relates to improvements in` emergency-lever slot filling devices and the object of my improvement is to produce a device that is adapted to fill the slot in the foot-board of automobiles in which the emergency-lever travels so as to avoid the annoyance and disagreeable features due to.

the said slot when left open. and which will permit the free operation of the said lever, essentially uninipeded, which device is adapted for use on a car suoli as the Ford, which has such a slot vfor .the emergencylever in the foot-board, adjacent the foot of the operator.

.In the accompanying drawing: Figurel is a plan view of a foot-board such as used on a Ford automobile provided with my improved emergency-lever slot filling device. Fig. 2 is a similar view, on an enlarged scale, of the left end of the same, which has the emergency-lever slot. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on, the' line x of Fig. 2, the emergency-lever and connected parts being shown inbroken lines. Fig. -i is a similar view of a portion of the same, with the parts shown in a ditferent. position. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line y y of Fig. Fig. G is a plan view of the blank for one of the guideway members. Fig. 7 is a perspective View of sliding slot filling-device.

The foot-board 10 shown in the drawing constitutes part of the flooring of the aut-omobile, being secured in position in any proper manner, and has at'the left side a t ansverse slot 11 in which the emergencylever 15 operates. T hat is to say,the slot 1l extends across the board 10, and as the board 10 is positionedv across the body of the car, the slot 11 is directed longitudinally relatively to the car. The slot 11 is ofl appreciable length, and on the upper side may be inclosed by a border and finishing plate 13. secured to the board 10 by screws 14e.

rThe emergency-lever 15 is fulcrumed at the lower end in some proper manner below the foot-board 10. extends through the slot 11, and is provided with a handle at the upper end. Locking devices 16 serve to per- Speccaton of Letters Patent.

. connecting walls Patented Aug. [1, seria11vo-7a929. y i' mit free. rearward movement of the vlever 15. when pulled by the handleand pr'e'vei'itr for vard movement thereof.` T he saidlev'er l2 is normally in the forward position. when 60 the car mechanism is in position for use; and twhen pulled rearwardly as y'an ei'uergle'n'cy operationfor quickly stopping thecar serves." to disengage the clutch'and at the san'ieitiiiie to set the emergency brakes on 1the"rearf'65 wheels. My invention comprises a filling device 1T that-y incloses the emergency-lever. 15.` adapted to slide back and forth on the 'under side of the foot-board 10 as the said lever 70` is moved to and fro. and which generallyv lills the port-ions of the slot'll notoccupied by the said lever 15. The filling device 1T is a rectangular piece of suitable material of appreciable thickness,4 being of somewhat greater length and width than the slot `11,- suitably to overlap the border walls thereof, and the same has, preferably at the forwardv end as shown, a hole 518 that is a snug lit for the emergency-lever 15. and in which the 8O said lever is housed. As mentioned, the fill-v ing device 17 is positioned on the under sidev of the foot-board 10, and the same is supported operatively in positionby means of a pair of guide-ways 19. The said. guideways 19 comprise each a= piece of sheet" metal. preferablygalvanized iron7 hentrintoaz suitable form by two right anglebends'to` provide a base portion'QO, for being secured to the foot-board 10 by means of screws 21, 90 and a flange 2&2, inwardly directed relatively f to the base portion 20. and connectedf to the said base portion 20 by means ofwvertical,v

a The guide-wayslflextend along the slot 11. one oneaclrfsidee thereof, with the two flangesyiQQ opposed@ and support the filling piece 17 generally. the fianges 22 being spaced apart sufficiently fz to permit the lever 15 to pass therebetween.

The guide-ways 19 as described are made 100 of sheet metal, and these aremade of sufficient strength to readily support the filling piece 17. and for which a 'light weight material Vwill answer. and which however is weak 'enough to yield to appreciable force, 105 such as might be applied thereto in case an attempt were made to operate the emergency lever and the free operation of my filling device were obstructed. In such case the emergency devices would of course be operated and the guide-ways would be damaged, ay condition that is preferable to having the guide-Ways so strong that in ca 'e the movement of' the filling piecewere 'ob` structed the operation of' the emergencylever would be blocked. Y

Various kinds of material may be used for the filling device 17, although I prefer to use a fibrous material, rather than metal, as the latter will produce a rattle and be objectioable on account of the noise. Snitable materials are leather, webbing, fiber, fabric filled with rubber or composition, and. rubber compounds.

The board 10, equipped with my filling device, is placed in position in the ca'r in the usual manner, being slipped over the emergency-lever 12, the said lever being entered in the hole 18 in the filling device 17.

The use of' my filling device or blind as the same may be designated prevents the objectionable throwing up through the slot 1l of' sand and dirt, and occasionally slush, and in the winter time shuts off cold air, a condition which without my invention is such as to make ridingv at certain times a matter of discomfort instead of comfort, as one f'oot of the operator is generally 4near or partly over some-part of the slot l1 which my filling device orblind covers.

The locking devices comprise' usually a connecting rod 16 at the front of the emergency lever 15 and a pivoted handle at the upper end, adjacent the handle on the emergency lever l5, and the construction of the connecting mechanism at the junction of the parts mentioned usually involves features that constitute enlargements or overhanging parts that overhang the body portion of the emergency lever' both in the longitudinal direction of' slot 11 and also at the sides of the lever 15. Therefore, as the border 13 for the slot 11 is of metal, the slot -11 in thesame is appreciably Wider than the thickness of the'lever 15, so that the slot 11 is a poor fit for the lever, and there is what appears to be extra free space at ,the sides because the slot must be wide enough `to permit the foot board to be placed in position by-enteringthe upper end of the lever in the slot and then lowering the board to its proper position, the slot traveling along the lever. It is important that this lateral free, space at the.y sides of the lever be filled as 'teriaL well as the longitudinal open space'. I am enabled to fill the said-.lateral free space by' the use of fibrous material for` the `filling .5h-

bility of' the material to permit the same tov 60 Y be brought into operative positionby using appreciable forceh involving some1 mo, mentary yielding or.stretching of the Ina-'fk' Accordingly, the use of' such fibrous 'y material permits of a snug fit for the lever,

-.-and also insures'noiseless operation.

I claim as my .invention:-

l. In combination With a foot-board for an automobile having a slot for an emergency lever, a filling piece serving as a blind to cover the said slot, having a hole in which the said lever is housed, and positioned on the under side of the said board, guide-ways for guiding the said piece parallelism with the said slot and the said 7,'5';

guide-ways being formed of a pair of pieces of sheet material, each bent into L-shape to" form a base portion, a connecting portion-g Vand a flange portion, the two flange portions being opposed and supporting the said ll- 8 0 ing piece, whereby the said guide-.ways are adapted to yield under abnormal conditions of pressure. t

2. A foot-board for an automobile having a slot for an emergency lever and locking '8.5A

devices connected to the said lever, a filling l piece having a hole for receiving the said L lever and locking devices, and slidabl fw mounted on the under side of the'said boar 4, guide-ways for guiding the said filling piece in parallelism with the said slot, and the said filling piece comprising a single piece of yielding fibrous material, lrectangular riny form, and of appreciable thickness, suitable-` to serve as abridge to cover the said slot,,19,157v

whereby noiseless operation is insured and a close 'fit is obtainable between the side Walls of the said hole and the sides of the lsaid lever.

SOLON FRANK PRESTON.

Witnesses:-

B. E. SPENCER, Louis M. ScHMIm. 

